China: Operating a Business

Setting Up a Company

Equity Joint Venture (EJV)

Number of partners: Minimum of one Chinese entity and minimum one foreign entity.Capital (max/min): No minimum capital required, but at least 25% from foreign investors.Shareholders and liability: Limited to the amount of contributions.

Co-operative joint ventures (CJV)

Number of partners: Minimum of 2 partners: one Chinese entity and one foreign entity.Capital (max/min): No minimum capital required.Shareholders and liability: Limited to the amount of contributions.

Foreign investment joint stock company, JSC

Number of partners: Minimum 2 partners.Capital (max/min): Minimum capital needed: 5 million Rmb, 30 million Rmb if foreign capital.Shareholders and liability: Each shareholder contributes the same amount to the share capital and is linked to the company by its share of the share capital.

Chine Holding Company (CHC)

Number of partners: Minimum 1 partner.Capital (max/min): Minimum capital USD 30 million.Shareholders and liability: Each shareholder contributes the same amount to the share capital and is linked to the company by its share of the share capital.

Working Conditions

Legal Weekly Duration

40 hours

Retirement Age

55 years for women and 60 years for men.

Working Contracts

Legal provisions govern the work contracts, the collective agreements and the individual negotiation supplement them.Employment contract and recruiting conditions formalities are strict, which is not so for dismissal constraints which are rather flexible.There are 3 types of contracts: the permanent contract, the fixed term contract and the contract for the project.

Social Partners

Social Dialogue and Involvement of Social Partners

While worker protests and work stoppages occur regularly, the right to strike is not protected by law. China has not ratified core International Labor Organization conventions on freedom of association and collective bargaining, and enforcement of existing labor regulations is poor. The Chinese Communist party recognizes only one trade union: "the All China Federation of Trade Unions" (ACFTU). The ACFTU is not an independent trade union, it thus cannot be the voice of the workers.